CHRISTIAN AID NEWS

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INPUT Inspired? Enraged? Send your views to: The Editor, Christian Aid News, 35 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL or email canews@christian-aid.org DEVELOPMENT: THE BEST CONTRACEPTIVE? Thank you for the fact that you have permitted, even encouraged, discussion of population growth in your letters column. Other organisations are not so accommodating. It is heartening too that the large majority of your correspondents on this subject express concern about population growth. However I have one or two minor gripes about Ray Hasan’s Comment column (Input, Issue 56). He remarks that poor people often make very rational choices to have many children: quite so, but noone can be said to have exercised choice in the absence of the knowledge or means to make a different choice. Indeed he seems to make that point himself in the paragraph mentioning the 215 million women who have no access to family planning, and he could at that point have made reference to the 42 million women who seek abortions annually, of which some 20 million are unsafe, with a large number of deaths or permanent disabilities resulting: these abortions speak loudly of the absence of proper family planning. Similarly, he scarcely needed to reject the notions about ‘the poor’, and ‘population control’ being a universal panacea. Noone thinks like that any more: nor do they advocate ‘coercion or imposition from outside’. Roger Plenty, Stroud On reading the letters on Population and Fertility (Input, Issue 56) I was moved by Elizabeth James’ comments about the powerlessness of many women, and the links between educated girls and small family size. Yes, education of girls empowers them, giving them choices and sometimes enabling them to break away from their family’s lifestyle, and seek well-paid work. There is an old saying that ‘development is the best contraceptive’. In many developed countries the fertility rate is very low, sometimes below ‘replacement level’. In the developing world, where there is no social security or pensions and limited healthcare, children provide security for their parents in old age. They can also help the family unit by doing chores and they often work from a very young age to help the family budget. Such families are unlikely to reduce their birth rate until they feel confident that their children will survive into adulthood. Margaret Coombs, Chepstow Human beings, as well as being spiritual, are biological creatures and as such are governed by the laws of biology and evolution. We know from studying other species that if their environment is trashed or reduced too much and their numbers exceed their food supply, the population crashes. What makes us think that we are so different? Because of our brain power and ability to make and exploit various sorts of tools, we can ameliorate some of the adverse effects but ultimately our options run out. Will we ever realise this? Neil Hancox, Abingdon, Oxon ETHICAL CHOICES AND BOYCOTTS In his letter in the recent Christian Aid News, headed Power to the People (Input, Issue 56), Maurice Vassie asked where he could get information to help him make ethical choices. He and your other readers should use the information gathered by Ethical Consumer. They research many factors of products and services so that consumers can make their own choices on what to buy – or not. They publish a magazine and a website, at reasonable subscription rates. For more details, go to ethicalconsumer.org or call 0161 226 2929. Jill Hathaway, via email The letter from Maurice Vassie is one with which I heartily agree. Consumer boycott is, I think, the best and possibly only way of really making an impact. As Mr Vassie so rightly says, ways to avoid complying with legislation can always be found, but it would be impossible to avoid the effect of a consumer boycott. Perhaps it is time for us to use this powerful weapon in the fight against such greed and injustice. Mrs P Forbes, via email TAX AND CORRUPTION I read with interest your article mentioning tax dodging (Campaigns, Issue 56). I suggest it would be a good idea to: • name the ‘unscrupulous companies’ that do this • contact them and challenge them on it • encourage us to write and protest to the major companies involved. Don Hinson, via email The Campaigns team replies: ‘A key reason we don’t currently campaign directly to unscrupulous companies about their tax dodging is that it is very difficult and time-consuming to put together definitive evidence of corporate tax dodging, due to the lack of financial transparency both within companies and in tax havens that hide companies’ and individuals’ financial dealings. The whole system needs to change so that CALLING <strong>CHRISTIAN</strong> <strong>AID</strong> Main switchboard: 020 7620 4444 • Supporter enquiries: 020 7523 2225 • Donations: 020 7523 2269 Regular giving queries: 020 7523 2046 • Wills and legacies: 020 7523 2173 • National events: 020 7523 2248 26 Christian Aid News
COMMENT all companies are required to be more transparent – not just the ones that we might name and shame.’ I much enjoyed the summer issue of Christian Aid News – it contained a lot of interesting information. I am supportive of the aims of the tax justice campaign, but there is one aspect which is almost never mentioned in your articles, and that is the creaming off and corruption on the part of officials in many of the countries to which aid is being directed. I realise that you, along with many other charities, try to circumvent that by working with projects in the community. I also recognise that it is no help if Christian Aid workers are expelled from a country because of unfavourable comments about its leaders. However, when making the general case for tax justice, I think you should at least acknowledge that the problem is not confined to corporates – there is tax dodging and manipulation within the countries themselves that contributes to the poverty of the general population. That’s not an argument for not giving aid – but it is a factor that should be recognised when assessing why so many people remain in an extreme state of poverty around the world. Lesley King, via email The Campaigns team replies: ‘While Christian Aid actively works to ensure more accountable governance in developing countries, it is important not to assume that all developing country governments are corrupt and that state funds will automatically be used fraudulently. However, the secrecy of our financial system currently provides cover for tax dodgers and corrupt officials alike. Our tax justice campaign calls for greater transparency and an end to tax haven secrecy which, as well as ensuring governments receive the taxes they’re due, would mean that it would be much harder for ill-gotten gains to be hidden away from view.’ VALUE FOR MONEY: A BALANCE BETWEEN RESULTS AND RESOURCES When you donate to Christian Aid, you rightly expect that your money will be put to the best possible use. Amanda Farrant, donor communications advisor, explains how we go about making sure that is exactly what happens Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan WHEN ANDREW MITCHELL became UK Secretary of State for International Development, he committed to targeting taxpayers’ hard-earned cash where it can do the most good and provide the best value for the world’s poorest people. Christian Aid aspires to see an end to poverty, and to get there we also need to achieve the most impact by getting the most value out of our supporters and donors’ contributions. Unarguable aspirations. The conundrum, however, is how to know where our money does the most good and where it achieves the most value. Who’s to say that spending money on a maternal health project does more good or provides better value than spending it on an agriculture programme? Some might perceive value for money as a project that costs less, but going for the cheapest option can risk sacrificing lasting impact for short-term savings. Others could argue that development funds are best spent on helping citizens to hold governments to account over policies or spending, which ultimately In Kenya’s urban slums, Christian Aid partner Maji na Ufanisi trained young people to lobby their local government for regular rubbish collections. As a result, 60,000 people have been benefiting from fortnightly collections since 2009 and slum conditions have improved enormously benefits more people, permanently. Others still might feel that value lies in an emotional and personal connection between donor and recipient. Christian Aid recently hosted an event in London with the UK Department for International Development, the Overseas Develop ment Institute and others to discuss ways to improve value for money in development. Most agreed that value needs to include the results achieved for poor people, not just savings on costs per item or per individual. Daniel Jones, head of Programme Innovation and Learning at Christian Aid, believes that value for money is about management, not measurement. ‘There’s no magic wand. It’s about making better decisions – it’s about always working for the best balance between results and resources.’ Christian Aid believes that we will get most value for money by bringing about the most lasting and far-reaching change for as many of the world’s poorest, most marginalised people as possible. This is why we invest in campaigns such as Ekta Parishad’s land rights fight in India (see page 16) and the global tax justice campaign; why we support vulnerable communities to become resilient to crises and disasters, and why we invest in learning about what we do well. Christian Aid’s approach is outlined in our new Value for Money briefing paper and case studies, on the Christian Aid website. See christianaid.org.uk/valuefor-money Christian Aid News 27
Page 1 and 2: CHRISTIAN AID NEWS Issue 57 Autumn
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Contact us: 020 7620 4444
Page 5 and 6: AS CAMPAIGNERS ASSEMBLED at the Gre
Page 7 and 8: india ...and IndIa floods hIt 1.2 m
Page 9 and 10: IndIa Star power booStS hope of end
Page 11 and 12: christian aid/tom pilston or friend
Page 13 and 14: Christian Aid campaigners with Rev
Page 15 and 16: countries receive in aid each year.
Page 17 and 18: Main picture: supporters prepare fo
Page 19 and 20: Building equality: Christian Aid pa
Page 21 and 22: Christian Aid/Ally Carnwath Christi
Page 23 and 24: The Good Little Company’s Craig B
Page 25 and 26: AROUND NORTH ENGLAND TAX JUSTICE TO
Page 27 and 28: AROUND THE SOUTH EAST Regional news
Page 29 and 30: AROUND WALES FROM PUDDINGS TO PRAIS
Page 31 and 32: KEEP uP TO DATE WiTH WHAT’S HAPPE
Page 33 and 34: KEEP uP tO dAtE WitH WHAt’S HAPPE
Page 35: SATURDAY 29 SEPTEMBER Day conferenc
Page 39 and 40: ✁ march for justice JOIN huNDrEDS
Page 41 and 42: FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE SWITCH TO ECOT

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